Jurors will hear the rest of a recording Tuesday of Michael Jackson's personal physician providing his account of the King of Pop's final hours, including an encounter with the superstar's family members at the hospital.
Transcripts of LAPD Interview: Part 1 | Part 2
On Friday, jurors in the doctor's involuntary manslaughter trial heard a portion of Conrad Murray's interview two days after Jackson's death with Los Angeles Police Department investigators. Murray's timeline of events included details about the drugs he administered to his famous patient, pleas for a powerful sedative from a restless Jackson and the realization that Jackson was no longer breathing.
"I came back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing,'' Murray told LAPD investigators during his account of June 25, 2009
Jackson, 50, was pronounced dead later that day at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The coroner's report cited "acute propofol intoxication."
Murray administered the fatal dose of the powerful surgical anesthetic, then failed to properly monitor his patient at the rented Holmby Hills mansion, according to the prosecution. Witnesses called to the stand during the trial's first two weeks have testified that Murray was on the phone with his girlfriends and sending e-mails during critical minutes of June 25, 2009, but Murray claimed he only left Jackson's side for a few minutes.
Defense attorneys claim that it was during those few minutes that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose of propofol. Murray told investigators that Jackson even pleaded with him to let him inject the drug.
Conrad Murray Trial: Testimony Timeline, Who's Who
The recording ended Friday with Murray explaining to investigators what happened once Jackson was brought to the hospital. Court was not in session Monday, and jurors Tuesday are expected to hear Murray's account of events at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
A transcript of the recording shows that Murray said he told Jackson's daughter, Paris, at the hospital that he did his best to save her father.
"She said, 'I know that Dr. Murray. At least I know. I know you tried your best,'" Murray told investigators, according to the transcript. "'I know you tried your best, but I'm really sad. You know, I will wake up in the morning and I won't be able to see my daddy.' She cried and was very stark.''
He told investigators he held hands with Jackson family members. He told them he wanted an autopsy performed to find out what happened, according to the transcript.
"I gave Mr. Jackson love,'' Murray said in the interview. "I was his friend. I cared about him. I tried to help him. that's all I was trying to do.''
Piecing Together Timeline of the Day Jackson Died
The two-hour LAPD interview is considered an important piece of the prosecution's case. It had never been played before in public and a transcript had never been released.
Related: What Jackson Doc Did Not Tell Investigators
"By doing that, they allow the police to nail him to specific timelines, to specific actions he took, that may come back to haunt him," said attorney Tom Mesereau, who represented Jackson during his 2005 molestation trial.
The interview starts with Murray explaining to investigators that he had treated Jackson "off and on" since 2006 before receiving a call from the superstar's assistant in the spring of 2009. Michael Amir Williams told Murray that Jackson wanted him to accompany him during a series of upcoming London concerts, according to Murray's account.
Testimony revealed that Jackson agreed to pay Murray $150,000 a month.
Murray told investigators he was "a bit surprised" to learn that other doctors had given Jackson propofol, a drug the entertainer referred to as his "milk."
Murray said it was about 10:40 a.m., after the restless early hours of June 25, 2009, when Jackson said, "'Please, please give me something.'"
"So, I agreed at that time that I would switch over to the propofol and I would give him small amounts that would help him to sleep," Murray said during the interview. "I took all precautions that were available."
Earlier, a medical equipment executive testified the equipment in Jackson's bedroom was not adequate for administration of the surgical sedative.
Williams testified during the trial's first week that a "frantic" Murray called him from the Carolwood Drive estate and told him something was wrong with Jackson. Williams, in downtown LA at the time, called Jackson guard Alberto Alvarez, who ran to the mansion and found Murray upstairs in Jackson's bedroom.
Murray was conducting chest compressions with one hand, Alvarez testified.
"I said, 'Call 911,'" Murray told detectives.
Alvarez testified that Jackson's two older children were nearby when he arrived in the second-floor bedroom, and that Murray told him: "'Don't let them see their dad like this.'"
Alvarez claimed Murray ordered him to stash several vials of medicine in a bag before telling him to call 911.
Court is scheduled to resume Tuesday at about 8:45 a.m. Refresh this page for updates and to watch a livestream.
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